San Lorenzo Community Church United Church of Christ Sermon: “Music that Moves Us” Preached extemporaneously by Rev. Annette J. Cook A reading from the Letter to the Colossians 3:15-17 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed or song, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God our Maker and Sustainer. Sermon presented September 2, 2012 Page 1 San Lorenzo Community Church United Church of Christ Sermon: “Music that Moves Us” Preached extemporaneously by Rev. Annette J. Cook Cheryl and I were talking about our month of Broadway musicals the other day. Evidently, back in June and July, I had a conversation with her about the plans to sing Broadway show tunes and I told her that I wanted to pick four musicals that were all about family. I don’t remember that conversation. In fact, I don’t think it happened. So she said, no, really, you said you wanted four musicals about family: The Sound of Music is a show about a family of circumstance The Fiddler on the Roof is about a family in transition Annie is about a family of choice And Godspell is about the family of God. You see, she said, they are all about family! That’s excellent, isn’t it? In fact, that’s a little bit of genius. Thing is, I never said it. Granted, it would have been cool if I had planned it that way . but I just don’t think I did. Or, maybe, unconsciously I chose these musicals because of the family theme. When I was a kid, my family went camping as our summer vacation – which meant long car rides. Technology and specifically entertainment technology was not what it is now. So these were long car rides without an iPod, without Nintendo, without games on the cell phone. We would all climb in the station wagon. Mom and dad in the front. My sister Natalie had the spot behind Dad, while I sat behind Mom on the passenger side of the car, and Wayne jumped into the way back – I don’t know if there is a name for that part of the car. We always called it the “way back.” Each of us got to pack a few toys and a book to keep us occupied because, of course, my siblings and I fought. There were invisible lines in the car marking places where you couldn’t cross or even touch for fear of reprisal. I’m sure you get the picture. So it is no surprise that my parents – both of whom were teachers – had more than one trick up their sleeves to engage us in something other than nitpicking and arguing. We played all of the usual car games – I Spy and counting blue cars. But more than that we had my Dad who knew and loved Mitch Miller and groups like Up with People and, of course, Broadway musicals. On many a long drive, my family would be singing our hearts out with Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, West Side Story, Mary Poppins and more. My dad had the whole album memorized and, since he played them over and over, well, we knew the songs too. You know, once the My Favorite Things is in your bones, well, it just doesn’t leave. “When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don’t feel so bad.” These weren’t just fun songs to sing – though surely they were that. These were lessons to be learned, ideas and concepts about life, morals and values for living an Sermon presented September 2, 2012 Page 2 San Lorenzo Community Church United Church of Christ Sermon: “Music that Moves Us” Preached extemporaneously by Rev. Annette J. Cook honest life. They teach us about romance, surely, but also being in right relationship, doing the right thing, and having hope and making positive change. So given the origins of why I love musicals so much, I suppose it’s no wonder that we would have a month of family-values musicals. 25 years ago Sarfraz Manzoor’s life changed forever. He was 16 years old, a bored and frustrated working-class Asian kid living in a small town in England. His family was a typical traditional Pakistanis – his dad was a first generation immigrant who worked in a car factory and his mum stayed at home making dresses and looking after four children. Sarfraz was always a bit different from the others. He had a head full of crazy dreams. He wanted to get out of the small town, to do a job that was actually interesting and he wanted the chance to marry someone who wasn’t already his blood relative. Those dreams didn’t seem to have much chance to come true. Yet here in September, Sarfraz is performing a one-man comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival about how Bruce Springsteen saved his life. Now the curious thing is that Sarfraz is not a stand- up comedian. He has never done this before in his life. And, granted, his friends and family had a sharply divided reaction – those who feared he had gone mad and those who were no longer in doubt. You see, Sarfraz is a non-drinking, Springsteen-loving British Pakistani Muslim who recently turned 40, became a father of a mixed race and mixed faith baby and firmly believes that Bruce’s songs contain the secret to life, love and happiness. As a teenager, Sarfraz was expected to get a solid but dull job and eventually have an arranged marriage to someone who was solid and perhaps also a little dull. Everything changed the day he walked into college and ran into a fellow Asian boy called Amolak. Amolak told Sarfraz the secret to a better life, one of fulfilment and true love was in the music of Bruce Springsteen. What can you do but laugh? Bruce Springsteen? How on earth could rock music made by an American bloke in a plaid shirt have anything to do with Sarfraz growing up in small-town England? Amolak handed him a cassette tape and Sarfraz promised he would give it a listen. That evening he went home, turned the lights out and put the cassette on. And suddenly it all made sense. Born to Run, Thunder Road and The River blasted into his ears. These weren’t the pop songs he had heard before, they were songs that were about lives very much like his own. They featured characters stuck in dead-end towns but who wished for more, guys dreaming of escape and love and a life more exciting than the one they led. Guys like Sarfraz. And so he was hooked. He got hold of all Springsteen albums and started studying the lyrics and discovered that his friend had been right – the answer to life’s questions really do lie in the words of the Boss. In fact, Sarfraz is so bold as to say there isn’t a problem in the world that cannot be solved by consulting the lyrics of Springsteen. Sermon presented September 2, 2012 Page 3 San Lorenzo Community Church United Church of Christ Sermon: “Music that Moves Us” Preached extemporaneously by Rev. Annette J. Cook For example, when he was a teenager he resented his dad for not letting him have the freedom his white friends did. Then he heard Independence Day which is basically a conversation between Bruce and his dad. “They ain’t gonna do to me what I watched them do to you,” sings Springsteen and Sarfraz thought of his dad who had to endure racism in the 60s and ended up working in a car factory even though he was capable of so much more. That song made him realize what his Dad had gone through. Later in life when Sarfraz was wrestling with whether to accept an arranged marriage or follow his heart, another Bruce song helped. In the song “Prove It All Night,” Bruce sings: “If dreams came true, well, wouldn’t that be nice. But this ain’t no dream we’re living through tonight, if you want it, you take it and you pay the price.” In other words, life is not a fairy tale – if Sarfraz wanted to follow his heart he needed the courage of his desires. He used Springsteen as a map and a guide to another life. He got out of the small town, was the first in his family to go to university, worked as a journalist in London and is now married to a wonderful woman – who is neither Asian nor Muslim, with whom he has a gorgeous baby girl. Throughout all that time Springsteen was a constant companion. Sarfraz writes, “I have seen him more than 100 times in concert and have even been lucky enough to meet him.” It was Springsteen’s music which inspired Sarfraz to leave the small town, his words to clung to when he was trying to find the courage to defy his family as they urged him to have an arranged marriage, and his music playing in the delivery room when his lovely daughter was born.